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A1  ·  The future

ir a plus infinitive

The future people actually speak.

It is built from a conjugated ir, the preposition a and the infinitive: voy a, vas a, va a, vamos a, vais a, van a. That is all — the infinitive never changes. English «going to» is the same idea with the same feel.

It covers what English does with «I'm going to» and often with the present: intentions, arrangements, whatever is coming up. Voy a llamarte mañana is «I'll ring you tomorrow», and nobody hears anything ceremonious in it.

The a never drops, even though in speech it runs into the following vowel. That is exactly why it gets forgotten in writing: voy a hacer sounds like one word.

Die Form

buildir (gebeugt) + a + Infinitiv
formsvoy a, vas a, va a, vamos a, vais a, van a
negatedNo voy a decir nada.
with a pronounVoy a llamarte. / Te voy a llamar.
question¿Qué vas a hacer este fin de semana?

Die Regeln im Einzelnen

  1. ir is conjugated, the infinitive stays.

    Vamos a comer fuera.We are eating out.

  2. The a is always there, however faint it sounds.

    Voy a hacer la compra.I am going to do the shopping.

  3. The pronoun may go in front or on the infinitive.

    Te lo voy a explicar. / Voy a explicártelo.I will explain it to you.

  4. no goes before the conjugated ir.

    No vamos a llegar a tiempo.We are not going to make it in time.

Woran man es erkennt

  • mañana
  • esta tarde
  • el año que viene
  • la semana próxima
  • dentro de
  • luego

Beispielsätze

Este verano vamos a viajar a Galicia.This summer we are travelling to Galicia.

¿Vas a venir a la reunión?Are you coming to the meeting?

Va a llover, mira el cielo.It is going to rain, look at the sky.

No voy a comprarlo, es demasiado caro.I am not going to buy it, it is too expensive.

Noch 6 Beispielsätze

Voy a llamarte esta noche.I will ring you tonight.

¿Qué vais a hacer en vacaciones?What are you doing in the holidays?

Van a abrir un supermercado nuevo.They are going to open a new supermarket.

No va a caber todo en el coche.It is not all going to fit in the car.

Vamos a empezar por el principio.Let us start at the beginning.

Creo que va a nevar.I think it is going to snow.

Die typisch deutsche Falle

Aufgepasst

The a disappears in writing, because in speech it runs into the next word. Voy hacer does not exist — the phrase has three parts, and without the a it has no hinge. English «going to do» has the «to» in exactly the same place; treat the a as that «to».

Falsch:Voy hacer la compra.
Richtig:Voy a hacer la compra.

ir conjugated, a in the middle, infinitive at the end — and the a is never missing.

Jetzt selbst

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